Vacation and The Art Spirit



I am on my way on Friday. :-) I'll get to spend time with some family which will be great. AND it will be nice to experience temperatures above 50 degrees. I'm going to brink my sketchbook so I can sketch some ideas, and go for walks, shop, etc. FUN and a nice late winter break.

In the meantime I am thinking about what direction I want to go in as an artist. Visiting museums is a wonderful thing because other people's work can spark ideas you want to do. The problem is there aren't enough hours in the day. I bet none of you have that problem, hmmmm?

Robert Henri, an artist and teacher, wrote a book called The Art Spirit, which has lots of nuggets in it. I was reading through an old sketchbook of mine from 10 years ago and found the following quotes from The Art Spirit:


"Completion doesn't depend
on material representation.
The work is done when that
special thing has been said."


"There is a time and place for all things.
The difficulty is to use them only
in their proper time and places."


"The most vital things in the
look of a face or of a landscape
endure only for a moment. Work
should be done from memory.
The memory is of
that vital moment."

"All good work is done from
memory whether the model
is present or not."


"Nature has its laws.
Your pigments and your
flat canvas have other laws.
You must work within
the laws of your material."


And my personal favorite....

"Those who cannot begin do not finish."

1 comment:

Countryfolk Keepsakes said...

Great post Dix.
Grandma Moses did most of her paintings from memory.
Have a great time in Florida! Bring back some warm temps please, we could use it here in the northeast.

Be safe and Godspeed. :> )
~Peanut


"Do not let what you cannot do
keep you from doing what you can do."

John Wooden